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Lloyd Huck

Lloyd Huck

Penn State's Board of Trustees Friday (Jan. 18) recognized the passing of Trustee Emeritus J. Lloyd Huck, the retired chairman of the board of pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co. and a former chairman of Penn State's Board of Trustees, who died Dec. 4 in State College at the age of 90.

Penn State has lost an alumnus whose leadership and philanthropy have helped the University to become a pioneer in the life sciences. J. Lloyd Huck, the retired chairman of the board of pharmaceutical firm Merck & Company and a former chairman of Penn State's Board of Trustees, died in State College, Pa., this week at the age of 90. With his wife and fellow Class of 1943 member Dorothy Foehr Huck, he established endowments in fields ranging from molecular biology to nutrition, leading to the creation of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

"Few institutions are fortunate enough to have such visionary advocates as Lloyd and Dottie Huck," said Penn State President Rodney Erickson. "Through Lloyd's decades of service to the University, he guided Penn State on an ambitious path, and through the Hucks' philanthropy, they have enabled our students and faculty to fulfill that ambition.

Peter Hudson came to Penn State a decade ago from the University of Stirling, in his native Great Britain, to serve as the Verne Willaman Chair of Biology. In 2005 he became director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. The Huck provides a foundation for research collaboration across colleges and departments in the University, offering resources for faculty and students to carry out collaborative research. We sat down to talk with him to learn more about the Huck.

Nearly 60 years after Lloyd and Dottie Hucks' first donation to their alma mater, Penn State's Board of Trustees on July 13 honored the couple's longtime service and philanthropy to Penn State through the newly renamed J. Lloyd and Dorothy Foehr Huck Life Sciences Building. The honor recognizes the Hucks' nearly $44 million lifetime, multidisciplinary investment in innovative University research and education.

Penn State's 32nd annual Renaissance Fund dinner has raised $155,000 to endow scholarships in honor of State College residents Lloyd and Dorothy (Dottie) Huck, the 2008 Renaissance Honorees. More than 320 guests attended last week's dinner at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel on the University Park campus. The annual event raises money for Renaissance Fund scholarships, which are awarded to academically talented Penn State students who have great financial need. The dinners honor community leaders, and contributions are used to endow scholarships in their names.

J. Lloyd Huck and Dorothy Foehr met during their first week as undergraduates at Penn State in 1940, a meeting that led to the forming of a partnership that has lasted sixty-five years -- and that has made a huge impact on both the State College and Penn State communities. Because of that impact Lloyd and "Dottie" Huck have been named the University's 2008 Renaissance Fund Honorees, and will be recognized at the 32nd annual Renaissance Fund dinner, according to Charles W. Rohrbeck, president of the fund's board of directors. This year's dinner will be held Thursday, Nov. 13 at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel on the University Park campus, with a 6 p.m. reception, followed by dinner at 7 p.m.